Johannesburg – Some “opportunistic members” of the African National Congress (ANC) who have failed to make it into their party’s nomination lists were seeking to join the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), party leader Julius Malema said on Monday.
“They failed to be nominated by their own branches, they call me seeking to join the EFF…and I tell them do not call me. I do not want ANC people, they must stay in the ANC…they are calling us now that they can see that they would not be counted [in the ANC].
“I do no have respect for such people…I do not have respect for such clear opportunism,” Malema told reporters in Midrand where the EFF national list conference was underway on Monday.
The two-day list conference would see the party finalising and adopting lists for councillors and other candidates for local government.
Malema said the party was looking for EFF members in good standing who were also community activists and willing to work “for 24 hours” a day.
The EFF would win all municipalities, he said.
“I can tell you that we are going to win all municipalities, and unfortunately I cannot tell you which municipalities we are concentrating on, we do not want to demoralise our hard working foot soldiers on the ground in other municipalities…but we have targets.”
The party’s list of candidates would be submitted at the Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) on Thursday. Malema said the mayoral candidates would only be announced after the August 3 local government elections.
Malema, who said he would not stand for a mayoral position, but would instead concentrate on national politics, said only those who were hard working community activists would make it onto the lists, and not “celebrities in nice suits”.
“We want ordinary EFF members who come from our communities, not celebrities. The problem with celebrities is they feel entitled…they think you owe them something, and they come with a huge liability.”
The EFF had launched its election manifesto in April in Soweto, where it promised “people centred” municipalities if it won at local government level.
The party was founded by at least 1 200 delegates in Soweto 2013 where the radical and ultra left political party was formed, led by Malema.
The August 3 polls will be its first local government elections after it got more than a million votes in the 2014 general elections.
African News Agency